Thread: Tax question-selling depreciated equipment

I am not very knowlegable about tax stuff. That is what I quess my tax man is for, but anyway I want to just be thinking ahead. At the beginning of 2012 I sold a mower that I beleive should be totally depreciated out. I bought it used in 2007 for around $3500 and sold it for about $1700. Now since I sold it do I have to claim the $1700 as taxable income or can that be used toward the purchase of a new mower that I bought that was around $7500. Thanks

Given the facts you mentioned, the mower sold at the beginning of 2012 would be ordinary income of $1,700. The math would look like this:

Purchase Price: $3,500
Accumulated Depr: 3,500
Adjusted Basis: $0.00

So, sale price of $1,700 less adjusted basis of $0 is a gain of $1,700. This is referred to as depreciation recapture of Section 1245 property. Basically, the IRS is not going to allow you to treat the sale of the mower as a capital gain b/c the depreciation used in prior years offset ordinary income. See linked IRS publication below for further reading if you are interested.

As far as the new mower purchased for $7,500, you will be have a variety of options to depreciate the asset. If purchased in 2012, it will be eligible for Section 179 expense. That means you can deduct the entire purchase price of the mower in the first year. You could also choose to depreciate the mower over five years.

Many accountants let the the tax tail wag the business dog. What I mean is that many CPA's or EA's will recommend spending and deductions that lower your tax liability, but don't make much business sense. I think this is short sighted and ends up with the client being frustrated in future years. If you have financed that mower and decide to expense the full $7,500 on your 2012 tax return, any payments made in 2013 and beyond will not be tax deductible b/c you already used up the entire deduction in 2012.

I would also recommend searching for an accountant that is proactive. If you are only seeing and talking to your accountant at tax time, you are not able to utilize any tax planning or business planning services which is where the real value comes from. You are basically paying your accountant to fill out tax forms for you.

Thanks for your help and breaking it down for me to understand. I am not sure if I will write it all off this year or just depreciate it. I do this business as a side job and it is a rather large expense for me. Thanks again.

Then 179 it. When you depreciate it over 5 years the tax gain is so minimal it's not even worth it. Pay your estimated. There is no dodging when the tax man cometh. And they said the mafia was racketeering! They are the biggest crooks of them all.